Gawai & Kaamatan Day Message By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 30.5.2016.

Betrayal By BN Of The Federal Constitution:- MCA, Gerakan & MIC Should Stop The Quit Threats Sandiwara By Cutting Ties With UMNO For Working With PAS To Implement Hudud-Like Laws Through A Simple Majority Instead Of Amending The Federal Constitution Which Requires A 2/3 Majority.

Sarawakians and Sabahans celebrate their Harvest festival of Gawai and Kaamatan with a huge betrayal by BN of promising to preserve the Federal Constitution and full consultation of national issues. Whilst Sarawakians were betrayed after the recent Sarawak state general elections when no Chinese Deputy Chief Minister as promised, the proposal by PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to table the hudud bill with the support of BN, is a gross betrayal of the Federal Constitution.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tried to avoid responsibility for this betrayal of the Federal Constitution by BN in supporting PAS by claiming that what PAS tabled was not a hudud bill. However, all non-Muslim component party members and Sabah as well as Sarawak parties ignored such duplicity and deception by describing it as a hudud bill. Even UMNO-owned New Straits Times published the news report on 27 May 2016 by describing it unequivocally as the “tabling of the hudud bill”.

As the hudud bill strikes at the very core of the character and identity of the Federal Constitution, any proposal to implement hudud laws whether partially or in totality should be by way of constitutional amendment which requires a 2/3 majority to pass. DAP opposes the hudud bill because it is unconstitutional where a country cannot have two systems of criminal justice, one based on civil laws and the other on religious laws.

Similarly these laws cannot be implemented only in Kelantan but not in other states. This can be seen by Hadi’s proposed private member’s hudud bill been implemented on Muslims not just in Kelantan, but throughout the country outside Kelantan. DAP wishes to reiterate that we do not oppose Islam, but oppose the hudud bill because is against the Federal Constitution.

The PAS President tabling a private member’s bill to implement hudud through an ordinary law passed by a simple majority is also procedurally wrong, because it should be by way of constitutional amendment. Clearly PAS is trying to bypass and get around the constitutional requirement of a 2/3 majority by treating this as an ordinary law which requires only a simple majority. This is in recognition that there are 137 Muslim MPs(PAS has only 14), which is not sufficient to make up a 2/3 majortiy.

With only 14 MPs, PAS does not have even have the numbers to make a simple majority of 112 MPs much less a 2/3 majority requiring 148 MPs. PAS can only succeed with the support of BN, which was what happened last Thursday when BN supported PAS to table the hudud bill for debate at the next parliamentary session.

MCA, Gerakan and MIC claims that they were neither informed nor consulted with BN’s decision to support PAS in implementing the hudud bill. Their leaders even threatened to resign as Ministers. MCA, Gerakan & MIC should stop the quit threats sandiwara by immediately cutting ties with UMNO for working with PAS to implement hudud-like laws through a simple majority instead of amending the Federal Constitution which requires a 2/3 majority.

Yet questions remain why they have not done so or at the very least leave BN in protest at being treated as an ornamental vase with no value whatsoever to BN without any need for consultation or even notification of decisions made. MCA, Gerakan and MIC have threatened earlier to leave BN earlier if UMNO supports PAS in implementing hudud.

Why have they not done so or followed the example of DAP when we cut ties with Hadi after discovering that Hadi was determined to break his promise to Pakatan Rakyat, by implementing hudud? Instead DAP is being blamed for PAS tabling the hudud bill even though DAP MPs had stood up to oppose it in Parliament without a single MCA, Gerakan or BN MP opposing the tabling of the hudud bill in Parliament last Thursday.

Instead of asking UMNO MPs that supported PAS to resign, MCA is asking DAP to resign, when it is not DAP but BN that is at fault. MCA is now trying to use their control of the mainstream media to change the political discourse from blaming BN and UMNO to blaming the DAP. Clearly MCA, Gerakan and MIC refuses to take responsibility and resign because they wish to cling on the their Ministerial positions.

Perhaps MCA, MIC and Gerakan should follow the example of Kedah MCA deputy chairman and state EXCO member Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong, who resigned from MCA but remained as state exco in protest against BN for supporting PAS n tabling the hudud bill. MCA should leave and quit BN but remain as Ministers so they can show that they are still principled in opposing hudud but continue to enjoy the perks of Minsterial office.